The subject matter described herein relates generally to electric motors, and more specifically to the assembly of an electric motor controller configured to be positioned at least partially within an electric motor housing.
Typically, a motor controller includes a power module that is the single largest component within the motor controller. The power module may require a heat sink to prevent overheating. Typically, components of the motor controller are coupled to a single elongated circuit board having controller components coupled to a first side of the circuit board and the power module coupled to a second side of the circuit board. Coupling the power module to the second side of the circuit board facilitates attaching a heat sink to the power module without interference from the other controller components. This circuit board configuration restrains circuit board size reduction, which limits a manufacturer's ability to reduce a size of an electric motor that includes the motor controller, as well as the ability to reduce a size of systems or apparatuses that include the electric motor.
Furthermore, a typical circuit board manufacturing process utilizes machinery capable of soldering electrical components to one side of the circuit board. In order to couple components to both sides of the circuit board, typically the components on the second side of the circuit board are hand soldered. Hand soldering components on one side of the circuit board limits production efficiency and is labor intensive.